Can Amino Acids Be Converted To Glucose

In this video I discuss what are amino acids, what are amino acids made of, and what do amino acids do in the body. I also cover what are peptide bonds, polypeptide chains, how amino acids form proteins, some functions of amino acids, and what are amino acids used to build. Transcript We are going to start by looking at the molecular structure of a typical amino acid, dont worry, I am going to make it easy to understand. The basic structure of amino acids is that they consist of a carboxyl group, a lone hydrogen atom, an amino group, and a side chain, which is often referred to as an R-group. The formation of the side chain is what makes amino acids different from one another. As you can see in this diagram, these 4 are all connected to a carbon atom, which is referred to as the alpha carbon. Not every amino acid follows this exact structure, but, most do. On the screen I have 3 different amino acids, lysine, tryptophan, and leucine. You can see that each has a carboxyl group, an alpha carbon, a amino group, and an R-group that is different from each other. There are 23 total amino acids that are proteinogenic. Proteinogenic amino acids are precursors to proteins, which means they

Amino Acid Metabolism

Amino acids assimilated by your body cells face two possible fates. One of them is protein synthesis, either directly, in the form in which they have been assimilated into the cell, or after being restructured by transamination to specific other (non-essential) amino acids , needed by the cell to assemble particular proteins. The other fate is amino acid degradation, i.e. splitting amino group from the carbon skeleton, with the amino group either disposed of through the urea cycle, or used for nucleotide synthesis, and carbon skeleton converted to metabolites feeding catabolic energy producing pathways - glycolysis and Krebs cycle. Most proteins are synthesized in millions of tiny structures made around ribosomal RNA (rRNA) molecules, called ribosomes. Free ribosomes are scattered throughout cytosol (intercellular fluid filling the space between outer cell membrane and cellular organelles), while membrane-bound ribosomes are attached to the cytosolic side of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. Ribosomes bind to the messenger RNA (mRNA), carrying protein codes taken from DNA strands in the nucleus, and synthesize corresponding protein molecules of amino acids present in the cy
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Popular Questions

manohman

Why can't fat be converted into Glucose?

So the reason cited is that beta oxidation/metabolism of fats leads to formation of acetyl coa, a 2 carbon molecule, and that because of that it cannot be converted back into glucose.Why exactly is that the case?If Glucogenic amino acids can be converted into citric acid cycle intermediates and then turn back into glucose via gluconeogensis, then why cant Fatty Acids which yield Acetyl Coa. Can't you just have Acetyl Coa enter the citric acid cycle and produce the same intermediates that the glucogenic amino acids creat?

Czarcasm

manohman said: ↑ So the reason cited is that beta oxidation/metabolism of fats leads to formation of acetyl coa, a 2 carbon molecule, and that because of that it cannot be converted back into glucose.Why exactly is that the case?If Glucogenic amino acids can be converted into citric acid cycle intermediates and then turn back into glucose via gluconeogensis, then why cant Fatty Acids which yield Acetyl Coa. Can't you just have Acetyl Coa enter the citric acid cycle and produce the same intermediates that the glucogenic amino acids creat?Click to expand... Both glucose and fatty acids can be stored in the body as either glycogen for glucose (stored mainly in the liver or skeletal cells) or for FA's, as triacylglycerides (stored in adipose cells). We cannot store excess protein. It's either used to make other proteins, or flushed out of the body if in excess; that's generally the case but we try to make use of some of that energy instead of throwing it all away.When a person is deprived of nutrition for a period of time and glycogen stores are depleted, the body will immediately seek out alternative energy sources. Fats (stored for use) are the first priority over protein (which requires the breakdown of tissues such as muscle). We can mobilize these FA's to the liver and convert them to Acetyl-CoA to be used in the TCA cycle and generate much needed energy. On the contrary, when a person eats in excess (a fatty meal high in protein), it's more efficient to store fatty acids as TAG's over glycogen simply because glycogen is extremely hydrophilic and attracts excess water weight; fatty acids are largely stored anhydrously and so you essentially get more bang for your buck. This is evolutionary significant and why birds are able to stay light weight but fly for periods at a time, or why bears are able to hibernate for months at a time. Proteins on the other hand may be used anabolically to build up active tissues (such as when your working out those muscles), unless you live a sedentary lifestyle (less anabolism and therefore, less use of the proteins). As part of the excretion process, protein must be broken down to urea to avoid toxic ammonia and in doing so, the Liver can extract some of that usable energy for storage as glycogen.Also, it is worth noting that it is indeed possible to convert FA's to glucose but the pathway can be a little complex and so in terms of energy storage, is not very efficient. The process involves converting Acetyl-CoA to Acetone (transported out of mitochondria to cytosol) where it's converted to Pyruvate which can then be used in the Gluconeogenesis pathway to make Glucose and eventually stored as Glycogen. Have a look for yourself if your interested: http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002116.g003/originalimage (and this excludes the whole glycogenesis pathway, which hasn't even begun yet).TLDR: it's because proteins have no ability to be stored in the body, but we can convert them to glycogen for storage during the breakdown process for excretion. Also, in terms of energy, it's a more efficient process than converting FA's to glycogen for storage.

soccerman93

This is where biochem comes in handy. Czarcasm gives a really good in depth answer, but a simpler approach is to count carbons. The first step of gluconeogenesis(formation of glucose) requires pyruvate, a 3 carbon molecule. Acetyl Co-A is a 2 carbon molecule, and most animals lack the enzymes (malate synthase and isocitrate lyase) required to convert acetyl co-A into a 3 carbon molecule suitable for the gluconeogenesis pathway. The ketogenic pathway is not efficient, as czarcasm pointed out. While acetyl co-A can indeed be used to form citric acid intermediates, these intermediates will be used in forming ATP, not glucose. Fatty acid oxidation does not yield suitable amounts of pyruvate, which is required for gluconeogenesis. This is part of why losing weight is fairly difficult for those that are overweight, we can't efficiently directly convert fat to glucose, which we need a fairly constant supply of. Sorry, that got a little long-winded

Moof's Medical Biochemistry Video Course: http://moof-university.thinkific.com/... In this video, I define and describe glucogenic and ketogenic amino acids, as well as list and depict which amino acids are exclusively glucogenic, which amino acids are exclusively ketogenic, and which amino acids are both glucogenic and ketogenic. I also show how the amino acids feed into the different key products of the TCA Cycle. For a suggested viewing order of the videos, information on tutoring, personalized video solutions, and an opportunity to support Moof University financially, visit MoofUniversity.com, and follow Moof University on the different social media platforms. Don't forget to LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c...

Ketogenic Amino Acid

All mammals synthesize saturated fatty and monounsaturated fatty acids de novo from simple precursors such as glucose or ketogenic amino acids. However, mammals cannot insert double bonds more proximal to the methyl end than the ninth carbon atom. Thus, two fatty acids having their first double bonds at the 6th and 3rd carbon atoms, namely, linoleic (18:2 n-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (18:3 n-3), respectively, cannot be synthesized de novo. Therefore, these fatty acids have to be supplied through the diet and are called essential fatty acids. Denoting the position of the first double bond proximal to the methyl end of the fatty acid chain, essential fatty acids are also classified as omega-6 (n-6) and omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids. A list of the most common n-3 and n-6 fatty acids and their systemic, common name, and shorthand notation is shown in Table 28.1. As early as the1930s, the essentiality of linoleic acid (18:2 n-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (18:3 n-3) in rat diets was identified (Burr and Burr, 1930). However, the essentiality of n-3 fatty acids in humans was first demonstrated only in the early 1980s (Holman et al., 1982). M. Saleet Jafri*, Rashmi Kumar, in Progress in Molec
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Popular Questions

manohman

Why can't fat be converted into Glucose?

So the reason cited is that beta oxidation/metabolism of fats leads to formation of acetyl coa, a 2 carbon molecule, and that because of that it cannot be converted back into glucose.Why exactly is that the case?If Glucogenic amino acids can be converted into citric acid cycle intermediates and then turn back into glucose via gluconeogensis, then why cant Fatty Acids which yield Acetyl Coa. Can't you just have Acetyl Coa enter the citric acid cycle and produce the same intermediates that the glucogenic amino acids creat?

Czarcasm

manohman said: ↑ So the reason cited is that beta oxidation/metabolism of fats leads to formation of acetyl coa, a 2 carbon molecule, and that because of that it cannot be converted back into glucose.Why exactly is that the case?If Glucogenic amino acids can be converted into citric acid cycle intermediates and then turn back into glucose via gluconeogensis, then why cant Fatty Acids which yield Acetyl Coa. Can't you just have Acetyl Coa enter the citric acid cycle and produce the same intermediates that the glucogenic amino acids creat?Click to expand... Both glucose and fatty acids can be stored in the body as either glycogen for glucose (stored mainly in the liver or skeletal cells) or for FA's, as triacylglycerides (stored in adipose cells). We cannot store excess protein. It's either used to make other proteins, or flushed out of the body if in excess; that's generally the case but we try to make use of some of that energy instead of throwing it all away.When a person is deprived of nutrition for a period of time and glycogen stores are depleted, the body will immediately seek out alternative energy sources. Fats (stored for use) are the first priority over protein (which requires the breakdown of tissues such as muscle). We can mobilize these FA's to the liver and convert them to Acetyl-CoA to be used in the TCA cycle and generate much needed energy. On the contrary, when a person eats in excess (a fatty meal high in protein), it's more efficient to store fatty acids as TAG's over glycogen simply because glycogen is extremely hydrophilic and attracts excess water weight; fatty acids are largely stored anhydrously and so you essentially get more bang for your buck. This is evolutionary significant and why birds are able to stay light weight but fly for periods at a time, or why bears are able to hibernate for months at a time. Proteins on the other hand may be used anabolically to build up active tissues (such as when your working out those muscles), unless you live a sedentary lifestyle (less anabolism and therefore, less use of the proteins). As part of the excretion process, protein must be broken down to urea to avoid toxic ammonia and in doing so, the Liver can extract some of that usable energy for storage as glycogen.Also, it is worth noting that it is indeed possible to convert FA's to glucose but the pathway can be a little complex and so in terms of energy storage, is not very efficient. The process involves converting Acetyl-CoA to Acetone (transported out of mitochondria to cytosol) where it's converted to Pyruvate which can then be used in the Gluconeogenesis pathway to make Glucose and eventually stored as Glycogen. Have a look for yourself if your interested: http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002116.g003/originalimage (and this excludes the whole glycogenesis pathway, which hasn't even begun yet).TLDR: it's because proteins have no ability to be stored in the body, but we can convert them to glycogen for storage during the breakdown process for excretion. Also, in terms of energy, it's a more efficient process than converting FA's to glycogen for storage.

soccerman93

This is where biochem comes in handy. Czarcasm gives a really good in depth answer, but a simpler approach is to count carbons. The first step of gluconeogenesis(formation of glucose) requires pyruvate, a 3 carbon molecule. Acetyl Co-A is a 2 carbon molecule, and most animals lack the enzymes (malate synthase and isocitrate lyase) required to convert acetyl co-A into a 3 carbon molecule suitable for the gluconeogenesis pathway. The ketogenic pathway is not efficient, as czarcasm pointed out. While acetyl co-A can indeed be used to form citric acid intermediates, these intermediates will be used in forming ATP, not glucose. Fatty acid oxidation does not yield suitable amounts of pyruvate, which is required for gluconeogenesis. This is part of why losing weight is fairly difficult for those that are overweight, we can't efficiently directly convert fat to glucose, which we need a fairly constant supply of. Sorry, that got a little long-winded

A glucogenic amino acid is an amino acid that can be converted into glucose through gluconeogenesis. This is in contrast to the ketogenic amino acids, which are converted into ketone bodies. The production of glucose from glucogenic amino acids involves these amino acids being converted to alpha keto acids and then to glucose, with both processes occurring in the liver. This mechanism predominates during catabolysis, rising as fasting and starvation increase in severity. In humans, the glucogenic amino acids are: Alanine Arginine Asparagine Aspartic Cysteine Glutamic Glutamine Glycine Histidine Methionine Proline Serine Valine Amino acids that are both glucogenic and ketogenic (mnemonic "PITTT"): Isoleucine Phenylalanine Threonine Tryptophan Tyrosine Only leucine and lysine are not glucogenic (they are only ketogenic). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucoge... Please support this channel and help me upload more videos. Become one of my Patreons at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3823907

Glucogenic Amino Acid

Paulo Ricardo Nazrio Viecili*12, ... Jonatas Z. Klafke*3, in Advances in Clinical Chemistry , 2017 TGs are lipid molecules formed by glycerol derived from carbon hydrates and/or gluconeogenic amino acids, bound to three FAs. These FAs have a similar conformation in most TG molecules: there is a saturated FA in position 1, an unsaturated FA in position 2, and a long-chain FA in position 3 (see Fig. 1) [1]. TGs are the most abundant lipids in nature, and their main characteristic is their essentially nonpolar nature, since the polar regions of their precursors (glycerol hydroxyls and carboxyls of the FAs) vanish when the ester bonds are formed. Animal fats and vegetable oils are complexes formed by TGs, the difference between them being the specific FAs that compose them. TGs in animal fats are predominantly composed of saturated FAs, lending them their solid appearance, while unsaturated FAs predominate in vegetable oils, giving them their liquid consistency. Both animal fats and vegetable oils can be digested in the organism thanks to hydrolysis by lipases [15]. TGs are synthesized through two main pathways: the glycerol phosphate pathway and the monoacylglycerol (MAG) pathway. Th
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Popular Questions

manohman

Why can't fat be converted into Glucose?

So the reason cited is that beta oxidation/metabolism of fats leads to formation of acetyl coa, a 2 carbon molecule, and that because of that it cannot be converted back into glucose.Why exactly is that the case?If Glucogenic amino acids can be converted into citric acid cycle intermediates and then turn back into glucose via gluconeogensis, then why cant Fatty Acids which yield Acetyl Coa. Can't you just have Acetyl Coa enter the citric acid cycle and produce the same intermediates that the glucogenic amino acids creat?

Czarcasm

manohman said: ↑ So the reason cited is that beta oxidation/metabolism of fats leads to formation of acetyl coa, a 2 carbon molecule, and that because of that it cannot be converted back into glucose.Why exactly is that the case?If Glucogenic amino acids can be converted into citric acid cycle intermediates and then turn back into glucose via gluconeogensis, then why cant Fatty Acids which yield Acetyl Coa. Can't you just have Acetyl Coa enter the citric acid cycle and produce the same intermediates that the glucogenic amino acids creat?Click to expand... Both glucose and fatty acids can be stored in the body as either glycogen for glucose (stored mainly in the liver or skeletal cells) or for FA's, as triacylglycerides (stored in adipose cells). We cannot store excess protein. It's either used to make other proteins, or flushed out of the body if in excess; that's generally the case but we try to make use of some of that energy instead of throwing it all away.When a person is deprived of nutrition for a period of time and glycogen stores are depleted, the body will immediately seek out alternative energy sources. Fats (stored for use) are the first priority over protein (which requires the breakdown of tissues such as muscle). We can mobilize these FA's to the liver and convert them to Acetyl-CoA to be used in the TCA cycle and generate much needed energy. On the contrary, when a person eats in excess (a fatty meal high in protein), it's more efficient to store fatty acids as TAG's over glycogen simply because glycogen is extremely hydrophilic and attracts excess water weight; fatty acids are largely stored anhydrously and so you essentially get more bang for your buck. This is evolutionary significant and why birds are able to stay light weight but fly for periods at a time, or why bears are able to hibernate for months at a time. Proteins on the other hand may be used anabolically to build up active tissues (such as when your working out those muscles), unless you live a sedentary lifestyle (less anabolism and therefore, less use of the proteins). As part of the excretion process, protein must be broken down to urea to avoid toxic ammonia and in doing so, the Liver can extract some of that usable energy for storage as glycogen.Also, it is worth noting that it is indeed possible to convert FA's to glucose but the pathway can be a little complex and so in terms of energy storage, is not very efficient. The process involves converting Acetyl-CoA to Acetone (transported out of mitochondria to cytosol) where it's converted to Pyruvate which can then be used in the Gluconeogenesis pathway to make Glucose and eventually stored as Glycogen. Have a look for yourself if your interested: http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002116.g003/originalimage (and this excludes the whole glycogenesis pathway, which hasn't even begun yet).TLDR: it's because proteins have no ability to be stored in the body, but we can convert them to glycogen for storage during the breakdown process for excretion. Also, in terms of energy, it's a more efficient process than converting FA's to glycogen for storage.

soccerman93

This is where biochem comes in handy. Czarcasm gives a really good in depth answer, but a simpler approach is to count carbons. The first step of gluconeogenesis(formation of glucose) requires pyruvate, a 3 carbon molecule. Acetyl Co-A is a 2 carbon molecule, and most animals lack the enzymes (malate synthase and isocitrate lyase) required to convert acetyl co-A into a 3 carbon molecule suitable for the gluconeogenesis pathway. The ketogenic pathway is not efficient, as czarcasm pointed out. While acetyl co-A can indeed be used to form citric acid intermediates, these intermediates will be used in forming ATP, not glucose. Fatty acid oxidation does not yield suitable amounts of pyruvate, which is required for gluconeogenesis. This is part of why losing weight is fairly difficult for those that are overweight, we can't efficiently directly convert fat to glucose, which we need a fairly constant supply of. Sorry, that got a little long-winded

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